Violet was a feisty 11-year-old farm girl with bright red hair, a contagious smile and a huge love for nature, pets and people. She was also one of a few hundred children diagnosed each year with brainstem glioma, a rare, deadly and insidious inoperable tumor. Bright, generous and fearless, Violet understood that she would die from her tumor – and she understood that to develop better treatments, doctors need to be able to learn more. That’s why before her death in October 2012, Violet asked that her brain be donated to science in hopes that it would help doctors create new, effective treatment options for others.

That gift is the inspiration behind Project Violet, an innovative research program developed by Dr. Jim Olson and colleagues from multiple disciplines at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. And now our team is ready to ride for the third time August 7-9, 2015 in order to honor Violet and help raise funds for the research needed to eliminate tumors like hers. With 100% of every dollar donated going directly to cancer research at Fred Hutch, we can make a direct impact to save lives faster. Please donate as much as you can because you believe in us, what we're doing and that together, we can defeat cancer.